First Lieutenant 257
First Lieutenant 257 is a Hunter, born in Hinesville, Georgia, United States. Abandoned by her parents upon her birth, she was taken in by the Den of Hinesville. There, she was raised to be a Hunter. She assisted in farmhand work, household care, and deliveries while training to fight and kill. Once she was eighteen years old and proving to be part of the top of her class, she enlisted along side her life long friend, Senior Corporal 258 (Lysander). Background The Order of the Hunters is well known for taking in orphans with no questions asked. So, it was not unusual for abandoned children to end up in the hands of Hunters. 257 was one of these orphans. Under the responsibility of Hinesville's well known foster parents, Burns and Stella Singleton, the young babe was given a name: Andalyn Lucy. Only a first and middle, however. The Order liked to mark the orphans as such to distinguish them from those born as Hunters. Despite the obvious difference, this did not cause any orphans to be ostracized. All were treated equally, orphans and those born as; males and females. As Andalyn grew, she of course made friends with the other children. One in particular was named Lysander Reece. Lysander was the same age as Andalyn and in the same condition as her; an orphan. They had connected at a very young age and quickly grew inseparable. Mischievous little children, they caused just as much trouble as they worked. It was found that as long as they were busy working and learning, they were well behaved. At least if what they were learning interested them. Though the two of them never fought each other, they often got into fights with the other children. Andalyn especially had a rivalry against a boy known as Ramsey Hawk. Perhaps at such a young age, they hated each other. It was not long before both Andalyn and Lysander found solace and purpose, not only in one another, but the life of a Hunter. The older they got, the more they realized the importance of what they were taught. They remained mischievous, however, pulling pranks, getting into fights. They were even considered bullies, picking on smaller children, especially the weaker ones they deemed "pathetic." Eventually they were punished, usually with a firm beating, but as they got older, they received proper punishment. Public lashings. It took witnessing and meeting a pair of Reconnaissance Men from the United States Marine Corps to get Andalyn and Lysander to actually straighten themselves. Barkley Lafayette and Lannis Hudspeth, both Staff Sergeants in the Marine Corps, had returned to Hinesville to gather some information. They had flown in by helicopter. Of course that had caught nearly everyone's attention despite it being pretty normal. They were fully equipped with never before seen rifles and gear only the older Hunters actually wore. Andalyn and Lysander were in awe with them. They carried themselves better than their own instructors. They were hardened and well off in the world. They just had to meet the Marines before they departed. Fortunately for them, Lafayette and Hudspeth had to stay for a couple of weeks and offered to show them what it was like to not only be a Marine, but a Reconnaissance Man. That was when they found something to aspire to. Immediately they stopped with their childish ways and became adults only two years before they would truly be one. They climbed to the top of their game. The top of their class. It was a transition done over night. They wanted to be Marines. They wanted to be Reconnaissance Men. Once Andalyn and Lysander were eighteen years old, they completed their grueling final exam. The torture unlike anything they had been told about or had even seen. Words could not describe what they had gone through. Stripped of their names, they were referred to us merely numbers. Numbers assigned by their position in line. Two years of excruciating torture that essentially broke the mirror of what they thought was life. Then against the advice of Lafayette and Hudspeth, they had immediately enlisted into the Hunters' Marine Corps. Boot camp with non-Hunters and then a second boot camp with only Hunters. They re-learned the basics of weapons handling. Learned how to be a Marine. Then the real test of fortitude came when they passed their exams with flying colors. Feeling as if they barely survived two years of interrogation for being just a Hunter, they were stripped of their names once more. Addressed by their service numbers, or in this case, a shortened version of it, Andalyn and Lysander went through another two years of unspeakable, chastening horrors. Before, only one person had died. This time around, five had died. There could have been more, yet somehow the few more that were hospitalized made it out. They had only barely passed. Andalyn and Lysander, graduated by the skin of their teeth. When they filled out their graduation forms, a final test of identification and ownership, they discovered that they no longer remembered their names. Andalyn was no more. She was seconds from physically losing her tongue. Minutes from losing her mind. She no longer wished to talk, at least for a year or so after graduation. Lysander was no better, but he was able to talk unlike her. They had never experienced something so traumatizing. Nothing would be as traumatizing as that. So they thought. After graduation, they simply addressed themselves as the numbers of identification in training. 257 and 258. They left behind their old ways, at least for the most part. They found peace of mind while they worked. Dragging their skulls through the mud, watching targets through their cross hairs, sitting in the rain. They had each other for comfort, for friendship, for family. Coupled with one another, they had their job to do and they were possibly the happiest people in the world. They achieved their goals and never looked back. The day of June 3, 2036, changed everything for 257 and 258. Two months on a single mission. They were leading a squad within the limits of Pyongyang, Korean Republic, formerly known as North Korea. It was on this day, June 3, when the execution of their plan was to take place. One team was to provide a distraction while the other team provided over watch to both the distraction team and two squads of infantry who were to infiltrate into the compound of the city where Kim Jung-Un IV was located. Their target, however, was not Jung-Un, instead it was the officers who were visiting. Killing Jung-Un would have made him a martyr and NATO forces did not need the Eastern Alliance rising up under a martyr. Everything was going according to plan until an unexpected canine caught the scents of 257 and 258. They pulled out in a tactical retreat from their nest in a second story restaurant. This was their mission and it was falling apart only minutes in. They had lost the initiative and 257 could not figure out a way to regain it. They retreated into a nearby park only for 257 to discover she had a clear shot at one of the officers they were to either take out or capture. Getting rid of their existence was just as good as extracting them from their allies. Desperate to hit the Eastern Alliance force at home and to save her troops from the offense, 257 lined up her shot. She was needed elsewhere. Both of them were. They needed to be acting as over watch to the squads, however, 257 had focused her attention on a potentially good location. Good only if the battle were in their favor still. She took the shot. Then they were attacked by a rabid German Shepherd free of its handler. They had never lost the animal and now they paid the price. 258 was taken down by the canine, able to fend it off long enough for 257 to end its life with her KA-BAR. They needed to move before before the soldiers caught up. With a smoke grenade thrown to their front while they retreated further into the park in hopes of reaching the forest, they did not expect what came next. The ominous hiss of a rocket flew through the air. Right into their smoke as they had entered it. Waking up from the concussive force of the RPG, 257 called for her partner. She followed his screams through the smoke while still being pursued by the Koreans and their dogs. When she found 258 laying upon the ground, she could not believe her own eyes. Their training had prepared them for sights like this and they had seen it countless times in the past. However, they thought of each other as invincible. Indestructible Hunters. Yet, here was 258 laying upon the dirt with only half of his body. They were only human after all. Made of meat and blood just like everyone else. 257 could not bear the sight of her childhood friend. She would not believe his fate was sealed. Desperately, she tried and tried to save him. She pulled on his plate carrier to drag him across the dirt to the forest, but that had failed. She pulled on him still up until his scarf had come loose. That American Flag scarf....They both wore one, a gift from their foster parents. It was then she discovered the damage of her own body. While 258 was missing half of his body, 257 was missing most of her right side. Over half of her right arm was gone, nothing more than muscle and bone showing upon her ribcage and the side of her head and face. No wonder she could not see very well. She had only one eye. While 258 took his last breath, 257 gathered his dog tags and his bloodstained scarf and ran. She did not make it far. Blood loss caused her to faint and hit the ground in the middle of the park. 257 woke up in a hospital days after the mission failure. Out of 32 men only 10 had survived. Brice and Rogers were the only ones left of her squad. They were there when she woke up. They were the ones who dragged her out of the mess. Months were spent in the hospital, recuperating from her injuries. Months were spent on beating herself up over the failure of such an important mission. So much could have been ended if she had just done better. When she was told that she was going to be sent back home to Hinesville, Georgia, 257 objected. They were going to force her into retirement just because she was missing her right arm. She swore she could prove she could still shoot. That she could still do her job. When she was good enough to leave the hospital, she spent over a month trying to prove she was fit to be a Marine, to be a Hunter. Unimpressed, the Marine Corps was going to send her straight back home. At least until a man known as Anaithnid Esblenin saw her desperately trying to pinpoint a target. A Rear Admiral straight from Apex Corporations itself. Admiring her ferocity and determination, Esblenin took her under his wing personally. Someone needed to guide her down the right path, especially after the traumatizing event she had suffered. Without even a second thought, 257 signed a new contract to work for Apex since she was retired from the Marine Corps. Just as Esblenin had promised, what she had lost was replaced. Given prosthetics, she spent two months getting acclimated. Then it was discovered that she absolutely would not allow herself to work with any other human being. She feared getting attached. She feared being responsible for another life. She was attached to one person and only one person. With that person gone, she assured she would never forget him. She wore her partner's scarf and his dog tags. To keep his promise, Esblenin issued her a new partner. She had lost hers and so it needed to be replaced. She refused to work with another human, so he had given her a dog. Something to take care of. Perhaps it would put her mind at ease and keep her from going stir crazy when not on a mission. Reluctant, 257 accepted the experimental German Shepherd. This canine was much larger than the average German Shepherd, both in height and weight. It was far more obedient and perhaps even more intelligent. Its canines replaced completely with titanium. Well trained enough to follow verbal commands and hand signals. Eventually, 257 had even taught it to recognize sounds as commands such as clicking the tongue, snapping the fingers, or certain rhythms from tapping. For six years, 257 worked for Apex directly underneath Esblenin. Soon she was given a leadership position. She was to lead a full platoon. A reconnaissance platoon known as The Spartans. They were well known for consisting of several previously disabled veterans and a few younger boys who wanted to join the club by volunteering to become amputees. This is due to the prosthetics being called Spartan Augmentations. Under the guidance of Captain Michael Dulevan, First Lieutenant 257 lead The Spartans into missions time and time again. She had proven herself a valuable asset to Apex and even more so when she had been kidnapped upon one mission. A strange group of mercenaries had interfered in a job to capture Korean Sympathizers on American soil. Unknown years in the past, this nameless group of mercenaries had terrorized the world. They had bitten off more than they could chew, however, when they decided to capture 257. She proved tough to force into their ranks, though she played the role of a double agent flawlessly. With plans to sabotage missions and relay information back to Apex, 257's only goal now is to survive in the hands of the enemy while she slowly grows attached to the all the wrong people for all the right reasons. Personality As a child: Daring, Unambitious, Abrasive As a young adult: Mechanical, Abrasive, Patriotic Where she stands in the present: Mechanical, Aggressive, Cynical Appearance Starting with the nitty and gritty details of 257, she stands at around five feet and two inches (152.4cm) and weighs a healthy and muscled weight of around one hundred twenty pounds (54.4kg). Thanks to farm work, she had grown fairly tan, however upon entering the Reconnaissance Man field in the Marine Corps, she had lost most noticeably color to her skin due to being covered most of the time. 257 bears many scars from head to toe, her entire body a canvas of scar tissue to tell a tale of each prank, and each mistake she had ever made while she grew. The most significant scars would be the ones from lashings upon her back that have painted the whole of the canvas. The next most significant would be the unique burns. Along the right side of her body, they've become a thin line through the scalp, down the face, neck, collar, chest and straight down to the right hip. This burn turns upwards, trailing right up her back along the side of her spine. It can believed this interesting scar came from the accident on June 3. Thanks to Apex taking in veterans and lost souls, 257 was able to regain her lost right arm along with her right eye. She had been set up with the SPARTAN Augmentation Mark III for her arm and the right half of her upper body. In addition to the prosthetics, she was given a Retinal Vision Enhancement Mark II. Because of this, 257 has grown a type of superhuman strength, only for her right arm and has significant protection from weaponry. She can even see further with her right eye and capture smaller details that she otherwise would not be able to notice. Due to these cybernetic prosthetics though, 257 is prone to severe damage in the case of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Now that EMPs are more perfected and effective in battle, 257 has to be fully aware of the chance of an EMP being used in the location she'll be in. Cybernetic attachments had to be made to her brain in order for the RVE MK-II to truly work, so in the act of an EMP, 257 will undergo a type of seizure, putting her out of combat for weeks, or even months. Clothing and Armor Underwear is not a needed discussion about the soldiers at Apex. However, 257 does wear the Mountain Suit prototype C0924 just like the rest of the soldiers. In addition to this, she wears one of the prototype Galea IV helmet. Reconnaissance Armor and Items * TMC RRV Plate Carrier - SAPI - cut filled with AR500 Hybrid Soft Armor (Front only) * IFAK * TACO Pouches ** Two SIG P226 15 round Magazines with 9mm rounds ** Two Remington MSR 10 round Magazines with .338 Norma Magnum rounds ** A pencil and notepad * Cobra Riggers Belt * Viking Tactics Battle Belt with TACO Pouches and a Tactical Jumbo 4 Way MOLLE Deployment Bag (Butt Pack) ** Sheath for a KA-BAR ** One pack of cigarettes and one lighter ** Ghillie Suit Netting inside Deployment Bag ** 30 foot long Nylon Rope tucked into the Deployment Bag with a four-spiked hook attached outside of Bag * T.H.E. Pack ** Camelbak ** Duct Tape ** 25 feet of Bungee Cord ** Muzzle ** Four D-Rings ** Three Remington MSR 10 round Magazines with .338 Norma Magnum rounds ** M.R.E.s ** Bagged Dog Food ** Extra Medical Kit * CQC P226 Tactical Holster and Platform on the right thigh * Tactical Solutions Drop Leg Pouch on the left thigh ** Two Smoke Grenades, one white, one purple ** Two Fragmentation Grenades ** Five red Chemical Lights on the outside * M-Pact Covert Gloves * Hatch XTAC Protective Knee Pads, one on the right knee, one on the left ankle * Metro Air 9" SZ 200 Boots Infantry Armor and Items * Operator II Plate Carrier filled with AR500 Level IIIA padded with AR500 Trauma Pad (Front and Back) * IFAK * TACO Pouches ** Six G36K 30 round Magazines with 5.56x45mm NATO rounds ** Three SIG P226 15 round Magazines with 9mm rounds * United Shield Spec Ops Delta III A Ballistic Helmet (Only while working with the Middlemen * ESS Profile Pivot Giggles (Only while working with the Middlemen) * Half-faced balaclava * Galea III Helmet (Only while working with Apex) * Hatch XTAC Protective Knee Pads, one on the right knee, one on the left knee * Cobra Riggers Belt * Viking Tactics Battle Belt with TACO Pouches and a Tactical Jumbo 4 Way MOLLE Deployment Bag (Butt Pack) ** Sheath for a KA-BAR ** One pack of cigarettes and one lighter ** Ghillie Suit Netting inside Deployment Bag ** 30 foot long Nylon Rope tucked into the Deployment Bag with a four-spiked hook attached outside of Bag * T.H.E. Pack ** Camelbak ** Duct Tape ** 25 feet of Bungee Cord ** Muzzle ** Four D-Rings ** M.R.E.s ** Bagged Dog Food * CQC P226 Tactical Holster and Platform on the right thigh * Tactical Solutions Drop Leg Pouch on the left thigh ** Two Smoke Grenades, one white, one purple ** Two Fragmentation Grenades ** Five red Chemical Lights on the outside * M-Pact Covert Gloves * Metro Air 9" SZ 200 Boots Weapons ''Reconnaissance Weapons'' * Kukri Machete - USMC Edition * SIG P226 * Remington MSR ** Advanced Armament Corporation Titan, Quick Attach Suppressor (If required) ** La-Rue LMS Bipod ** S&B PM II, 5-25X, 1st Focal Plane HORUS reticle ''Infantry Weapons'' * Kukri Machete - USMC Edition * SIG P226 * Heckler & Koch G36K ** Vertical Foregrip ** Carry Handle with 3x magnified scoped and iron sights Medals and Ribbons *Wound Badge *Gold Marksman Lanyard *2nd Class (18 Years) Long Service (USMC) *1st Class (20 years) Long Service (Order of the Hunters) *2nd Grade Military Proficiency *Iron Cross Quotes "Oh, what do y'care if I smoke? Y'look yer' own ass!" Said to the dog. "Who's on door duty? Yer' all fuckin' fired, y'fucktards! I walked in the front door 'nd stood here for ten fuckin' minutes listenin' t'y'fools!" She said when scolding the Silver Lining Squad on a mission. "I will destroy every thing y'think y'know 'bout yer'self. I will break you 'nd render you mindless. You'll be chewing on crayons 'nd drinking blue fer' the rest of yer' life by time I'm through with you." Said to Lobanov during interrogation. “Don't call me that and try to act like you are something more than my Captain. Shut your mouth.” Spoken to Dulevan in the bathroom when he caught her only half-dressed. “They can all fuck off. I'm here for a job and nothing else. Relationships aren't worth the time or effort when there are more important things to do.” Spoken to Dulevan about relationships. "Home? Y'think that Den back in Georgia is my home? Naw. War is really my home. Without war, we don't get paid. Without war, we have nothing to do. Would you rather sit 'round doin' absolutely nothin', or would y'rather do somethin'?" Spoken to Dulevan about settling down and retiring from the military. "Tell Major Smith, he can go back to suckin' the General's cock. This is our mission. If he knows what's good fer' 'im, he best not interfere with a Hunter's job!" Spoken to the radio Operating when Major Smith tried to call off Apex's assault. “Fratricide is not in my 'okay-ta'-do' list, Major. It ought' not t'be in yers' either.” Spoken to Major Smith upon their physical meeting. “Every last one of you will pay for this! You fuckin' gator-humping fucktwits!” Spoken upon being handcuffed and bagged. “Do me a favor, you piece of shit, and move that light, will ya'? I don't know what's givin' me more of a headache, yer' voice or that lamp.” Spoken to Major Smith in the interrogation room. “I have more respect for a cow patty than that poor excuse for a human.” Spoken to the German (Major Smith) about McClellan. “I'll be sure to make them think twice then.” Spoken to Hudek upon being warned not to fuck with the Germans. “Fraternization is against the rules, y'know, Kraut” Spoken to Wilhelm when a subject becomes uncomfortable for her. “If you ever touch him again, you will die a slow death.” Spoken to the German upon finding out her dog was still alive. Trivia *The American Flag scarf she wears, actually belongs to Lysander (258). The one she keeps folded in her pack is actually her own. *The American Flag scarves 257 keeps with her were gifts from her foster parent, Burns Singleton. One was for her, the other was for Lysander. *Due to being stripped of individual identities during training, 257 forgot what her real name was. *The song "Cradle to the Grave" by Five Finger Death Punch could be considered a theme for 257.